 |
It was in the immediate vicinity of St. Cloud that Gov. Stevens left the Mississippi on his exploration, in 1853, of a railroad route to the Pacific. Several crossings of the river had been previously examined, and it was found that one of the favorable points for a railroad bridge over it was here. I might here say that the country directly west lies in the valley of Sauk River, and from my own observation I know it to be a good farming country; and I believe the land is taken up by settlers as far back as twelve miles. It is a little upwards of a hundred miles in a westerly direction from St. Cloud to where the expedition first touched the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood River). Gov. Stevens says in his report— " The plateau of the Bois des Sioux will be a great centre of population and communication. It connects with the valley of the Red River of the North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of three or four feet draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of arable and timber land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, also navigable at all seasons when not obstructed by ice, one hundred miles for steamers, and occasionally a hundred miles further. The head of navigation of the Red River of the North is within one hundred and ten miles of the navigable portion of the Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles from the Minnesota. Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes, the country on both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it heavily timbered."
I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is this: " Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is to be found immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky Mountains); and at the bottoms of the different streams, retaining their fertility for some distance after leaving the mountains, will considerably increase this amount." Mr. John Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides the country between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three grand divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is the mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. The third division comprises the immense plains of the Columbia.
Of the first division— from here to the foot of the Rocky Mountains— let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official report calls a "passing glance." "Undulating and level prairies, skirted with woods of various growth, and clothed everywhere with a rich verdure; frequent and rapid streams, with innumerable small but limpid lakes, frequented by multitudes of waterfowl, most conspicuous among which appears the stately swan; these, in ever-recurring succession, make up the panorama of this extensive district, which may be said to be everywhere fertile, beautiful, and inviting. The most remarkable features of this region are the intervals of level prairie, especially that near the bend of Red River, where the horizon is as unbroken as that of a calm sea. Nor are other points of resemblance wanting— the long grass, which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully to the passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the horizon is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the suggestion of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a character of wonder and delight. The following outlines of the rolling prairies are broken only by the small lakes and patches of timber which relieve them of monotony and enhance their beauty; and though marshes and sloughs occur, they are of too small extent and too infrequent to affect the generally attractive character of the country. The elevation of the rolling prairies is generally so uniform, that even the summits between streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no peculiar features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of the valley slopes."
I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or settler than to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. Tinkham, descriptive of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. His exploration, under Gov. Stevens, was made in the summer of 1853; and he has evidently given an impartial account of the country. I begin with it where he crosses the Mississippi in the vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the route for a distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first seventy miles of which was due west— the rest of the route being a little north of west.
"June 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here some six hundred to eight hundred feet wide— boating the camp equipage, provisions, &c., and swimming the animals; through rich and fertile prairies, variegated with the wooded banks of Sauk River, a short distance on the left, with the wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth of elm, poplar, and oak, which the road occasionally touches; following the 'Red River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with clear, cool water, good grass, and wood.
"June 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten feet across, flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft and deep, and previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for about two hundred feet distance, been bridged in advance by a causeway of round or split logs of the poplar growth near by; between this and the crossing of Sauk River are two other bad sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of poplar, and over the other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first removing the loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of ford some three hundred feet— depth of water four-and-a-half to five feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods affording the means of building a raft; camped immediately after crossing; wood, water, and grass good and abundant.
"June 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the trail, although generally in sight on the right or left, with occasional small ponds and several bad sloughs, across which the wagons were hauled over by hand to Lake Henry— a handsome, wooded lake; good wood and grass; water from small pond; not very good.
"June 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of Crow River, the channel of which is only some twenty feet wide and four or five feet deep; but the water makes back into the grass one hundred feet or more from the channel as early in the season as when crossed by the train. Goods boated over; wagons by hand and with ropes; no wood on the stream; several small lakes, not wooded, are on either side of the trail, with many ducks, geese, and plovers on them: encamp at Lightning Lake, a small and pretty lake, sufficiently well wooded on the borders for camping purposes; good water, wood, and grass, and abounding with fish.
"June 18. Over rolling prairie with small pools and marshes, to a swift running stream about twenty feet wide, three feet deep, a branch of Chippewa River; heavily rolling ground with stony knolls and granite boulders, to White Bear Lake, a large handsome lake, with mingled open and woodland.
"Broken rolling ground to camp, a mile off the Red River trail, and near a small wooded lake. Two small brooks have to be crossed in the interval, and being somewhat deep and with abrupt sides, are troublesome crossings.
"June 20. Rolling prairie country, with small marshes and ponds to a tributary of South Branch. Swift running stream, gravelly bottom, fifteen feet wide, three to four feet deep; with care in selection good crossing was obtained for the wagons; a wooded lake is a short distance to the right of trail.
"Small rivulet, whose banks are marshy and soft.
"Prairies, with small marshes and ponds to a swift running brook, six feet wide.
"Prairie to Pike Lake and camp of St. Grover; a handsome lake of about a mile in diameter, said to abound in pike; well wooded on its south border; grass, water, and wood, for camping, abundant and good.
"Rolling prairie with knolls; several ponds and marshes, with an intervening brook about six feet wide, and rather difficult of passage, from the abruptness of its banks, to a small brook, the outlet of a small and partially wooded lake or pond.
"Rolling prairie, with grassy, swelling knolls, small ponds and marshes, to Chippeway River; camp of odometer wagon on edge of river; water and grass good; no wood.
"June 24. Crossed Chippeway River, one hundred and twenty-four feet wide, three to six feet deep; goods boated over, and the animals swimming; wagon hauled through the water by a rope attached to the tongue, and with the aid of the mules; camped on Elk Lake, a small and pretty lake, well wooded, and with luxuriant grass; good water.
"June 25. Trail passes over prairies with a rich heavy grass (this is a hundred miles west of the Mississippi River), about eighteen inches high, winding between wooded lakes to a heavy ravine, with a small and sluggish rivulet in its bottom; sides steep, and laborious for the wagon train.
"Prairie sloping towards the western branch of the Chippeway River; a stream when crossed, about one hundred and forty feet wide, three or four feet deep, with a marked current and firm bottom; no wood.
"Camp on a small lake, fairly wooded, with luxuriant grass, and good water.
"June 27. Undulating prairie, rich soil, covered with a heavy growth of grass, with small ponds and marshes; woods continue in sight a short distance on the left of Elbow Lake, a well wooded lake, of form indicated by its name.
"Rolling prairie, with two bad sloughs, to Rabbit River, which is crossed with the wagon with but little difficulty, where it issues from a small lake. It is a small stream, but spreads out from one hundred to three hundred feet, with marshy borders; camp on the small lake, with good grass, wood, and water.
"June 28. Rolling ground, with small ponds and marshes, to a small brook twelve feet wide; the Bois des Sioux prairie, a smooth, flat prairie, without knoll or undulation— an immense plain, apparently level, covered with a tall, coarse, dark-colored grass, and unrelieved with the sight of a tree or shrub; firm bottom, but undoubtedly wet in spring; small brook, when the train made a noon halt.
"Same smooth prairie as above to Bois des Sioux River, sometimes soft and miry; camp on river bank; wood and grass good— river water fair; many catfish caught in the river.
"June 29. Cross Bois des Sioux River; seventy feet wide, four to seven feet deep; muddy bottom; steep and miry banks; goods boated over; wagons hauled through, light, with ropes; bad crossing, but passable; smooth flat prairie, as on the east side of Bois des Sioux, occasionally interrupted with open sloughs to Wild Rice River, and camp with wood, water, and abundant grass.
"June 30. Wild Rice River, about forty feet wide and five and a half feet deep, with muddy and miry bottom and sides, flowing in a canal-like channel, some twenty feet below prairie level; river skirted with elm— bridged from the steep banks, being too miry to sustain the animals, detaining the train but little more than half-a-day; small brook without wood, flowing in a broad channel cut out through the prairie; crossing miry, but made passable for the wagon by strewing the bottom with mown grass.
"Firm prairie to camp on edge of above small stream; good grass and water; no wood; elk killed by hunter.
"July 1. Smooth prairie extending to Shayenne River; sand knolls, ponds, and marshes frequent as the river is approached. The marshes were not miry— firmer bottom; good wagon road; night encampment on bank of river; sufficient grass for train; wood abundant; river water good; many catfish caught in river.
"July 2. Shayenne River, sixty feet wide, fourteen feet deep; river had been previously bridged by Red River train, from the poplars and other trees growing on the river, and this bridge we made use of in crossing our wagons; camp on the west bank of the river; water, wood, and grass good.
"July 4. Prairie undulation, interrupted with marshes, small ponds and occasional small rivulets, to Maple River, about twenty-five feet wide, three and a half feet deep, firm bottom, and easily passed by the wagons; river tolerably well wooded, and the camp on its edge is furnished with water, wood, and good grass. The rich black soil of the valley of this stream is noticeable.
"July 5. To a small stream thirty feet wide, two feet deep, clayey bottom, easily crossed by the wagons; prairie high, firm, and almost level for some thirteen miles, becoming more rolling and with small ponds in the last seven miles of the march; on the edge of some of the ponds are salt incrustations; camp on the river; water good; grass good; no wood, and the bois de vache is used for fuel.
"July 6. Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; prairie with low ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and marshes; night's camp by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of bois de vache; grass good.
"July 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday for some half dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is broken with deep coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them the train kept at some distance from the river, encamping by a small marshy pond; no wood; plenty of bois de vache; grass good; water tolerable; first buffalo killed to-day.
"July 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the Shayenne, which flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet below the prairie by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the river; wood and water good; grass rather poor; the bottom of the Shayenne, some half a mile wide, is often soft and miry, but when crossed by the train firm and dry.
"July 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and a half feet deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and requiring some digging to give passage to the wagons.
"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, to a slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very abundant.
"July 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with a frequency of marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty lake, near Lake Jessie; fairly wooded, with water slightly saline; grass scanty, having been consumed by the buffalo. Prairies covered with buffalo."
I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the country from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad (page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned Secretary of War.
LETTER XV.
ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL.
Importance of starting early— Judge Story's theory of early rising— Rustic scenery— Horses and mules— Surveyors— Humboldt— Baked fish— Getting off the track— Burning of hay stacks— Supper at St. Anthony— Arrival at the Fuller House.
ST. PAUL, October, 1856.
I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and after an early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from St. Cloud, in order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came up on the main road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of stage-wheel size, caused rather a disquieting apprehension that the stage had passed. But my nerves were soon quieted by the assurance from an early hunter, who was near by shooting prairie chickens while they were yet on the roost, that the stage had not yet come. So we kept on to the spacious store where the post office is kept; where I waited and waited for the stage to come which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive till eight o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform in starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80 miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a little earlier rather than have the last part of the trip extended into "the dead waist and middle of the night." I remarked to the driver, who is a very clever young man, that the stage which left St. Paul started as early as five o'clock, and I could not see why it was not as necessary to start as early in going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started the less of the night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly agreed with me, and attributed his inability to start earlier to the dilatory arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven at night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help begrudging every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. The theory of Judge Story, that it don't make much difference when a man gets up in the morning, provided he is wide awake after he is up, will do very well, perhaps, except when one is to start on a journey in the stage.
I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear and mild, and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every object, and there seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range of the great highway. Though there is, between every village, population enough to remind one constantly that he is in a settled country, the broad extent yet unoccupied proclaims that there is still room enough. Below Sauk Rapids a good deal of the land on the road side is in the hands of speculators. This, it is understood, is on the east side of the Mississippi. On the west side there are more settlements. But yet there are many farms, with tidy white cottages; and in some places are to be seen well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery to me, however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork of interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the true destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met numerous teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, destined for the different settlements above. The teams are principally drawn by two horses; and, as the road is extremely level and smooth, are capable of taking on as much freight as under other circumstances could be drawn by four horses. Mules do not appear to be appreciated up this way so much as in Missouri or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light carriages with a gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c., aboard, appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said it, that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good horses. I do not remember to have seen a mean horse in the territory. I suppose, as considerable pains are taken in raising stock, poor horses are not raised at all; and it will not pay to import poor ones. A company of surveyors whom we met excited a curiosity which I was not able to solve. It looked odd enough to see a dozen men walking by the side or behind a small one-horse cart; the latter containing some sort of baggage which was covered over, as it appeared, with camping fixtures. It was more questionable whether the team belonged to the men than that the men were connected with the team. The men were mostly young and very intelligent-looking, dressed with woollen shirts as if for out door service, and I almost guessed they were surveyors; yet still thought they were a party of newcomers who had concluded to club together to make their preemption claim. But surveyors they were.
The town of Humboldt is the county seat for Sherburne county. It lies between the Mississippi and Snake rivers. The part of the town which I saw was a very small part. Mr. Brown's residence, which is delightfully situated on the shore of a lake, is at once the court house and the post office, besides being the general emporium and magnate of Humboldt business and society. Furthermore, it is the place where the stage changes horses and where passengers on the down trip stop to dine. It was here we stopped to dine; and as the place had been a good deal applauded for its table-d'hote, a standard element of which was said to be baked fish, right out of the big lake, I at least had formed very luxurious expectations. Mr. Brown was away. We had met his lively countenance on his way up to a democratic caucus. Perhaps that accounted for our not having baked fish, for fish we certainly did not have. The dinner was substantial, however, and yielded to appetites which had been sharpened by a half day's inhalation of serene October air. We had all become infused with a spirit of despatch; and were all ready to start, and did start, in half an hour from the time we arrived at the house.
We had not proceeded far after dinner before meeting the Monticello stage, which runs between the thriving village of that name— on the west bank of the Mississippi— and St. Paul. It carries a daily mail. There were several passengers aboard.
One little incident in our afternoon travel I will mention, as it appeared to afford more pleasure to the rest of the passengers than it did to me. Where the stage was to stop for fifteen or twenty minutes, either to change mail or horses, I had invariably walked on a mile, if I could get as far, for the sake of variety and exercise. So when we came to the pretty village of Anoka (at the mouth of Rum River), where the mail was to be changed, I started on foot and alone. But unfortunately and unconsciously I took the wrong road. I had walked a mile I think— for twenty minutes at least had expired since I started— and being in the outskirts of the town, in the midst of farms and gardens, turned up to a garden-fence, on the other side of which a gentleman of professional— I rather thought clerical appearance— was feeding a cow on pumpkins. I had not seen pumpkins so abundant since my earliest youth, when I used to do a similar thing. I rather thought too that the gentleman whom I accosted was a Yankee, and after talking a few minutes with him, so much did he exceed me in asking questions, that I felt sure he was one. How thankful I ought to be that he was one! for otherwise it is probable he would not have ascertained where, and for what purpose, I was walking. He informed me I was on the wrong road; that the stage took a road further west, which was out of sight; and that I had better go on a little further and then cross the open prairie. Then for the first time did I notice that the road I had taken was but a street, not half so much worn as the main road. I followed his friendly advice, and feeling some despair I hastened on at a swift run, and as I advanced towards where I thought the right road ought to be, though I could neither see it nor the stage, "called so loud that all the hollow deep of"— the prairies might have resounded. At last, when quite out of breath and hoarse with loud vociferation, I descried the stage rolling on at a rapid rate. Then I renewed my calls, and brought it up standing. After clambering over a few fences, sweating and florid, I got to the stage and resumed my seat, amidst the pleasant merriment of the passengers. The driver was kind enough to say that he began to suspect I had taken the wrong road, and was about to turn round and come after me— that he certainly would not have left me behind, &c. I was happy, nevertheless, that my mistake did not retard the stage. But I do not intend to abandon the practice of walking on before the stage whenever it stops to change horses.
Just in the edge of twilight, and when we were a little way this side of Coon Creek, where we had changed horses again, we came in sight of a large fire. It was too much in one spot to be a prairie fire; and as we drove on the sad apprehension that it was a stack of hay was confirmed. The flames rose up in wide sheets, and cast a steady glare upon the landscape. It was a gorgeous yet a dismal sight. It always seems worse to see grain destroyed by fire than ordinary merchandise. Several stacks were burning. We saw that the usual precaution against prairie fires had been taken. These consist in ploughing several furrows around the stack, or by burning the grass around it to prevent the flames from reaching it. It was therefore suspected that some rascal had applied the torch to the hay; though for humanity's sake we hoped it was not so. The terrible prairie fires, which every autumn waste the western plains, are frequently started through the gross carelessness of people who camp out, and leave their fires burning.
Some of us took supper at St. Anthony. I cannot say much of the hotel de facto. The table was not as good as I found on the way at other places above. There is a hotel now being built there out of stone, which I am confident will exceed anything in the territory, if we except the Fuller House. It is possible we all felt invigorated and improved by the supper, for we rode the rest of the way in a very crowded stage without suffering any exhibition of ill temper to speak of, and got into St. Paul at last, when it was not far from eleven; and after seventy-five miles of staging, the luxurious accommodations of the Fuller House seemed more inviting than ever.
LETTER XVI.
PROGRESS.
Rapid growth of the North-West— Projected railroads— Territorial system of the United States— Inquiry into the cause of Western progress— Influence of just laws and institutions— Lord Bacon's remark.
ST. PAUL, October, 1856.
THE progress which has characterized the settlement of the territory of Minnesota, presents to the notice of the student of history and political economy some important facts. The growth of a frontier community, so orderly, so rapid, and having so much of the conservative element in it, has rarely been instanced in the annals of the world. In less time than it takes the government to build a custom house we see an unsettled territory grown to the size of a respectable state, in wealth, in population, in power. A territory, too, which ten years ago seemed to be an incredible distance from the civilized portions of the country; and which was thought by most people to be in a latitude that would defeat the energy and the toil of man. Today it could bring into the field a larger army than Washington took command of at the beginning of our revolution!
In 1849, the year of its organization, the population of the territory was 4780; now it is estimated to be nearly 200,000. In 1852 there were 42 post offices in the territory, now there are 253. The number of acres of public land sold during the fiscal year ending 30th June, 1852, was 15,258. For the year ending 30th June, 1856, the number of acres sold was 1,002,130.
When we contemplate the headlong progress of Western growth in its innumerable evidences of energy, we admit the truth of what the Roman poet said— nil mortalibus ardum est— that there is nothing too difficult for man. In the narrative of his exploration to the Mississippi in 1820, along with General Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft tells us how Chicago then appeared. "We found," says he, "four or five families living here." Four or five families was the extent of the population of Chicago in 1820! In 1836 it had 4853 inhabitants. In 1855 its population was 85,000. The history of many western towns that have sprung up within ten years is characterized by much the same sort of thrift. Unless some terrible scourge shall come to desolate the land, or unless industry herself shall turn to sloth, a few more years will present the magnificent spectacle of the entire domain stretching from this frontier to the Pacific coast, transformed into a region of culture, "full of life and splendor and joy."
At present there are no railroads in operation in Minnesota; but those which are already projected indicate, as well as any statistics, the progress which is taking place. The Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond-du-Lac Railroad was commenced some two years ago at Chicago, and over 100 miles of it are completed. It is to run via Hudson in Wisconsin, Stillwater, St. Paul, and St. Anthony in Minnesota to the western boundary of the territory. Recently it has united with the Milwaukee and La Cross Road, which secures several millions of acres of valuable land, donated by congress, and which will enable the stockholders to complete the road to St. Paul and St. Anthony within two years. A road has been surveyed from the head of Lake Superior via St. Paul to the southern line of the territory, and will soon be worked. The Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad Company will in a few weeks have their road completed to Prairie du Chien, and are extending it on the east side of the Mississippi to St. Paul. Another road is being built up the valley of the Red Cedar River in Iowa to Minneapolis. The Keokuck road is in operation over fifty miles, and will soon be under contract to St. Paul. This road is to run via the valley of the Des Moines River, through the rich coal fields of Iowa, and will supply the upper Mississippi and Lake Superior region with coal.
The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad Company has been organized and the route selected. This road will soon be commenced. The active men engaged in the enterprise reside in Green Bay and Stillwater. A company has been formed and will soon commence a road from Winona to the western line of the territory. The St. Anthony and St. Paul Railroad Company will have their line under contract early the coming season. The Milwaukee and La Cross Company propose continuing their road west through the valley of Root River, through Minnesota to the Missouri River. Another company has been formed for building a road from the head of Lake Superior to the Red River of the North.[1] Such are some of the railroad enterprises which are under way, and which will contribute at an early day to develop the opulent resources of the territory. A railroad through this part of the country to the Pacific is among the probable events of the present generation.
[1 The following highly instructive article on navigation, I take from The Pioneer and Democrat (St. Paul), of the 20th November:
"GROWTH OF THE STEAMBOATING BUSINESS— THE SEASON OF 1856.
— About ten years after the first successful attempt at steamboat navigation on the Ohio River, the first steamboat that ever ascended the Upper Mississippi River to Fort Snelling, arrived at that post. This was the 'Virginia,' a stern-wheel boat, which arrived at the Port in the early part of May, 1823. From 1823 to 1844 there were but few arrivals each year— sometimes not more than two or three. The steamers running on the Upper Mississippi, at that time, were used altogether to transport supplies for the Indian traders and the troops stationed at Fort Snelling. Previous to the arrival of the Virginia, keel boats were used for this purpose, and sixty days' time, from St. Louis to the Fort, was considered a good trip.
"By a reference to our files, we are enabled to present, at a glance, the astonishing increase in steamboating business since 1844. The first boat to arrive that year, was the Otter, commanded by Captain Harris. The following table presents the number of arrivals since that time:—
Year
First Boat
No. of Arrivals
River Closed
1844
April 6
41
Nov. 23
1845
April 6
48
Nov. 26
1846
March 31
24
Dec. 5
1847
April 7
47
Nov. 29
1848
April 7
63
Dec. 4
1849
April 9
85
Dec. 7
1850
April 9
104
Dec. 4
1851
April 4
119
Nov. 28
1852
April 16
171
Nov. 18
1853
April 11
200
Nov. 30
1854
April 8
245
Nov. 27
1855
April 17
560
Nov. 20
1856
April 18
837
Nov. 10
"In 1851, three boats went up the Minnesota River, and in 1852, one boat ran regularly up that stream during the season. In 1853, the business required an average of one boat per day. In 1854, the business had largely increased, and in 1855, the arrivals of steamers from the Minnesota, amounted to 119.
"The present season, on the Mississippi, has been a very prosperous one, and the arrivals at St. Paul exhibit a gratifying increase over any preceding year, notwithstanding the season of navigation has been two weeks shorter than last season. Owing to the unusually early gorge in the river at Hastings, upwards of fifty steamers bound for this port, and heavily laden with merchandise and produce, were compelled to discharge their cargoes at Hastings and Stillwater.
"Navigation this season opened on the 18th of April. The Lady Franklin arrived on the evening of that day from Galena. Previous to her arrival, there had been eighteen arrivals at our landing from the head of Lake Pepin, and twelve arrivals at the foot of the lake, from Galena and Dubuque.
"During the present season, seventy-eight different steamers have arrived at our wharf, from the points mentioned in the following table. This table we draw mainly from the books of the City Marshal, and by reference to our files.
FROM ST. LOUIS.
Boats
No. of Trips.
Ben Coursin
19
A. G. Mason
8
Metropolitan
13
Audubon
5
Golden State
8
Laclede
11
Luella
8
Cheviot
1
James Lyon
7
Vienna
5
New York
1
Delegate
1
Mansfield
7
Forest Rose
1
Ben Bolt
2
J. P. Tweed
1
Fire Canoe
2
Carrier
1
Julia Dean
1
Resolute
2
Gossamer
4
Thomas Scott
6
Gipsey
2
W. G. Woodside
1
York State
5
Mattie Wayne
4
Brazil
4
Dan Convers
1
Henrietta
4
Editor
5
Minnesota Belle
8
Rochester
2
Oakland
7
Grace Darling
4
Montauk
3
Fairy Queen
1
Saint Louis
1
Americus
2
Atlanta
1
Jacob Traber
6
White Bluffs
1
Arcola
8
Conewago
10
Lucie May
8
Badger State
5
Sam Young
4
Violet
1
——
Total arrivals from St. Louis,
212
FROM FULTON CITY.
Falls City
11
Diamond
1
H. T. Yeatman
11
Time and Tide
5
——
Total from Fulton City,
28
FROM GALENA AND DUNLEITH.
Lady Franklin
23
Galena
30
Alhambra
21
Royal Arch
6
Northern Belle
28
Banjo
1
War Eagle
17
City Belle
30
Golden Era
29
Ocean Wave
28
Granite State
12
Greek Slave
3
——
Total from Galena and Dunleith,
228
FROM DUBUQUE.
Excelsior
23
Kate Cassel
29
Clarion
11
Tishimingo
3
Fanny Harris
28
Flora
29
Hamburg
12
——
Total from Dubuque,
135
FROM MINNESOTA RIVER.
H. T. Yeatman
4
Globe
34
Clarion
12
Reveille
40
H. S. Allen
10
Time and Tide
11
Wave
29
Equator
46
Minnesota Valley
20
Berlin
10
——
Total from Minnesota River,
216
RECAPITULATION.
Number of arrivals from
St. Louis
212
Fulton City
28
Galena and Dunleith
228
Dubuque
135
Minnesota River
216
head of Lake Pepin
18
——
Whole number of boats, 78. Whole number of arrivals, 837
"It will be seen from the above, that ten more steamers have been engaged in this trade during the present year than last; while in the whole number of arrivals the increase has been two hundred and sixty-seven.
"The business on the Minnesota has greatly increased this year. This was to have been expected, considering the great increase in the population of that flourishing portion of our Territory.
"A thriving trade has sprung up between the southern counties of Minnesota, and Galena and Dubuque. During the greater portion of the summer, the War Eagle and Tishimingo run regularly to Winona.
"On the Upper Mississippi there are now three steamers, the Gov. Ramsay, H. M. Rice, and North Star (new). Daring the season these boats ran between St. Anthony and Sauk Rapids."]
It may be well to pause here a moment and inquire into the causes which contribute so wonderfully to build up empire in our north-western domain. The territorial system of the United States has some analogy, it is true, to the colonial system of Great Britain— not the colonial system which existed in the days of the stamp act— but that which a wiser statesmanship has more recently inaugurated. The relation between the general government and our territories is like that of guardian and ward— the relation of a protector, not that of a master. Nor can we find in the history of antiquity any such relationship between colonies and the mother country, whether we consider the system of Phoenicia, where first was exhibited the doctrine of non-intervention, or the tribute-paying colonies of Carthage. That system which was peculiar to Greece, "resting not on state contrivances and economical theories, but on religious sympathies and ancestral associations," came as near perhaps in spirit to ours as any on record. The patronage which the government bestows on new territories is one of the sources of their growth which ought not to be overlooked. Instead of making the territory a dependency and drawing from it a tax, the government pays its political expenses, builds its roads, and gives it a fair start in the world.
Another cause of the successful growth of our territories in general, and of Minnesota in particular, is the ready market which is found in the limits of the territory for everything which can be raised from a generous soil or wrought by industrious hands. The farmer has a ready market for everything that is good to eat or to wear; the artisan is driven by unceasing demands upon his skill. This arises from extensive emigration. Another reason, also, for the rapid growth of the territory, is, that the farmer is not delayed by forests, but finds, outside of pleasant groves of woodland, a smooth, unencumbered soil, ready for the plough the first day he arrives.
But if a salubrious climate, a fertile soil, clear and copious streams, and other material elements, can be reckoned among its physical resources, there are other elements of empire connected with its moral and political welfare which are indispensable. Why is it that Italy is not great? Why is it the South American republics are rusting into abject decay? Is it because they have not enough physical resources, or because their climate is not healthy? Certainly not. It is because their political institutions are rotten and oppressive; because ignorance prevents the growth of a wholesome public opinion. It is the want of the right sort of men and institutions that there is
"Sloth in the mart and schism within the temple."
"Let states that aim at greatness," says Lord Bacon, "take heed how their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for that maketh the common subject to be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, and, in effect, but a gentleman's laborer." He who seeks for the true cause of the greatness and thrift of our northwestern states will find it not less in the influence of just laws and the education of all classes of men, than in the existence of productive fields and in the means of physical wealth.
"What constitutes a state? Not high raised battlement, or labored mound, Thick wall, or moated gate; Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned; Not bays and broad armed ports, Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride; But men, high minded men.
PART II.
TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.
"POPULOUS CITIES AND STATES ARE SPRINGING UP, AS IF BY ENCHANTMENT, FROM THE BOSOM OF OUR WESTERN WILDS."— The President's Annual Message for 1856.
THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.
Organization of Minnesota as a state— Suggestions as to its division— Views of Captain Pope— Character and resources of the new territory to be left adjoining— Its occupation by the Dacotah Indians— Its organization and name.
THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of water;— a domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, and twelve times as large as Holland, when her commerce was unrivalled and her fleets ruled the sea. Its limits take in three of the largest rivers of North America; the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Red River of the North. Though remote from the sea board, ships can go out from its harbors to the ocean in two if not three different channels. Its delightful scenery of lakes and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, are not more alluring to the tourist, than are its invigorating climate and its verdant fields attractive to the husbandman. It has been organized seven years; and its resources have become so much developed, and its population so large, there is a general disposition among the people to have a state organization, and be admitted into the Confederacy of the Union.[1] A measure of this kind is not now premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the general government any longer to defray the expenses of the territory; and the adoption of a state organization, throwing the taxes upon the people, would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and emulation, a watchfulness as to the system of public expenditures, and a more jealous regard for the proper development of the physical resources of the state. The legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt take the subject into consideration, and provide for a convention to frame a constitution.
[1 On the 9th of December Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress from Minnesota, gave notice to the house that he would in a few days introduce a bill authorizing the people of the territory to hold a convention for the purpose of forming a state constitution.]
This being the condition of things, the manner in which the territory shall be divided— for no one can expect the new state will embrace the whole extent of the present territory— becomes a very interesting question. Some maintain, I believe, that the territory should be divided by a line running east and west. That would include in its limits the country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri River; possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would give Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that the territory should be divided by a line running north and south; say, for instance, along the valley of the Red River of the North. Such a division would not give Minnesota any of the Missouri River. But it would have the benefit of the eastern valley of the Red River of the North; of the entire region surrounding the sources of the Mississippi; and of the broad expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The question is highly important, not only to Minnesota, but to the territory which will be left outside of it; and it should be decided with a due regard to the interests of both.[1]
[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note which I have had the honor to receive from Captain Pope, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers I have before had occasion to quote from the able and instructive report of his exploration of Minnesota.
WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856.
DEAR SIR:— Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and I will premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall offer to your inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the condition of the territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my acquaintance may have materially modified since.
The important points to be secured for the new state to be erected in the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:— first a harbor on Lake Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, the whole course of the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. It is unnecessary to point out the advantages of securing these features to the new state; and to do so without enclosing too many square miles of territory, I would suggest the following boundaries, viz.:
Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is intersected by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of deepest water of that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood) River; thence up the middle of that stream to the south-west point of Lake Traverse; thence following a due south line to the northern boundary of the state of Iowa (43 degrees 30' north latitude); thence along this boundary line to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of the Mississippi River to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence along the western boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its intersection with the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that river to Lake Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its intersection with the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, and following this boundary to the place of beginning.
These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square miles of the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the territory, and will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That portion of the territory set aside by the boundary line will be of little value for many years to come. It presents features differing but little from the region of prairie and table land west of the frontier of Missouri and Arkansas. From this, of course, are to be excepted the western half of the valley of the Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as productive as any portion of the territory, which, with the region enclosed between them, would contain arable land sufficient for another state of smaller dimensions.
As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of February, 1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must find an outlet for its productions towards the south, either through the great lakes or by the Mississippi River. The necessity, therefore, of connecting the head of its navigation with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on the Mississippi, is sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of railroad will run through the most fertile and desirable portion of the territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of transporting the products of the Red River valley.
The construction of these roads— in fact the mere location of them— will secure a population along the routes at once, and will open a country equal to any in the world.
As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of 1850, I refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon which these views and suggestions are based.
I am sir, respectfully, your obedient servant;
JNO. POPE. C. C. ANDREWS, Esq., Washington, D. C.]
If the division last mentioned— or one on that plan— is made, there will then be left west of the state of Minnesota an extent of country embracing more than half of the territory as it now is; extending from latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th degree; and embracing six degrees of longitude— 97th to 103d— at its northern extreme. The Missouri River would constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In the northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded Shayenne, "whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many inducements to its settlement;" while towards the south it would have the Jacques, the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head waters of the St. Peter's. In its supply of copious streams, nature seems there to have been lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, M. Nicollet says, its Indian name means that it is continuously lined with wood; that its length cannot be less than three hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a beautiful and fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting the valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, whilst they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently expected to be met with here at all seasons of the year." The Jacques (the Indian name of which is Tchan-sansan) "takes its rise on the plateau of the Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 degrees north; and after pursuing nearly a north and south course, empties into the Missouri River below 43 degrees. It is deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for between five hundred and six hundred miles; but below Otuhuoja, it will float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those portions where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would be found." The same explorer says, the most important tributary of the Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not deserve any special mention as a navigable stream, but is very well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its own banks and those of its forks." He further observes (Report, p. 46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, between the two coteaux and in the latitude of Otuhuoja, may be laid down as having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; but what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie watered by the Tchan-sansan, which has been deemed by all travellers to those distant regions perhaps the most beautiful within the territory of the United States."
The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of average fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is characterized by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is narrow; and the bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. The country is adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though inferior as a general thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise of thrift and properity in its future. It is blessed with a salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who accompanied the expedition of Gov. Stevens through that part of the West, as far as Puget Sound, says in his official report: "On reviewing the whole route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health of the command during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears remarkable; especially when we consider the hardships and exposures necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by the great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their freedom from malarious or other endemic disease."
Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning that part of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the Bois des Sioux and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of railroad communication from the Mississippi River westward through the territory of Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river believed to be navigable for steamers of light draught, flowing northward from Lake Traverse into the Red River of the North, and the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may be considered as extending from south of Lake Traverse to the south bend of the Red River, and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles east of the Bois des Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This plateau separates the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the western portion of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is separated from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.)
M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who preferred to talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous formations" rather than to indulge in poetic descriptions. The outline which follows, however, of the western part of the territory is what he considers "a faint description of this beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper Mississippi is separated in a great part of its extent from that of the Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen from the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, looming as it were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name of Coteau des Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would be that of plateau, which means something more than is conveyed to the mind by the expression, a plain. Its northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, extending to 43 degrees; after which it loses its distinctive elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes into rolling prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its general direction N. N. W. and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called Tete du Couteau in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the level of the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and above the ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. Starting from this extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), the surface of the plateau is undulating, forming many dividing ridges which separate the waters flowing into the St. Peter's and the Mississippi from those of the Missouri. Under the 44th degree of latitude, the breadth of the Coteau is about forty miles, and its mean elevation is here reduced to one thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Within this space its two slopes are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and scolloped by deep ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds of rivulets that water the subjacent plains.
The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and fertile prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into the valley of the St. Peter's.
The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract of land diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the latter abounding in fish. This region of country is probably the most elevated between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From its summit, proceeding from its western to its eastern limits, grand views are afforded. At its eastern border particularly, the prospect is magnificent beyond description, extending over the immense green turf that forms the basin of the Red River of the North, the forest-capped summits of the haugeurs des terres that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in which are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no doubt that in future times this region will be the summer resort of the wealthy of the land." (pp. 9, 10.)
I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent valley of the Red River of the North," having before given some account of that region, and merely give his description of the largest lake which lies in the northern part of the territory: "The greatest extension of Devil's Lake is at least forty miles,— but may be more, as we did not, and could not, ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I left undefined on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty well wooded on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are taken advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, it is only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. This description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the opposite side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are destitute of trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east from ten to twelve miles long, upon an average breadth of three-quarters of a mile. The average breadth of the lake may be laid down at fifteen miles. Its waters appear to be the drainings of the surrounding hills. We discovered no outlets in the whole extent of about three-quarters of its contour we could explore. At all events, if there be any they do not empty into the Red River of the North, since the lake is shut up in that direction, and since we found its true geographical position to be much more to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon maps. A single depression at its lower end would intimate that, in times of high water, some discharge might possibly take place; but then it would be into the Shayenne." (p. 50.)
Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive domain which will be soon organized as a new territory.
What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of applying to territories the names which they have been called by their aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new territory will have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or Indian name of those tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter being an unmeaning Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united people," and is the word which the Indians apply to seven of their bands.[1] These tribes formerly occupied the country south and south-west of Lake Superior; from whence they were gradually driven towards the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains by their powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. Since which time they have been the acknowledged occupants of the broad region to which they have impressed a name. Several of the tribes, however, have crossed the Missouri, between which and the Rocky Mountains they still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to realize the truth of Hiawatha's words:—
"After many years of warfare, Many years of strife and bloodshed, There is peace between the Ojibways And the tribe of the Dacotahs."
[1 The following description of the Dacotahs is based on observations made in 1823. "The Dacotahs are a large and powerful nation of Indians, distinct in their manners, language, habits, and opinions, from the Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, and Naheawak or Kilisteno, as well as from all nations of the Algonquin stock. They are likewise unlike the Pawnees and the Minnetarees or Gros Ventres. They inhabit a large district of country which may be comprised within the following limits:— From Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, by a curved line extending east of north and made to include all the eastern tributaries of the Mississippi, to the first branch of Chippewa River; the head waters of that stream being claimed by the Chippewa Indians; thence by a line running west of north to the head of Spirit Lake; thence by a westerly line to the Riveree de Corbeau; thence up that river to its head, near Otter Tail Lake; thence by a westerly line to Red River, and down that river to Pembina; thence by a south-westerly line to the east bank of the Missouri near the Mandan villages; thence down the Missouri to a point probably not far from Soldier's River; thence by a line running east of north to Prairie du Chien.
This immense extent of country is inhabited by a nation calling themselves, in their internal relations, the Dacotah, which means the Allied; but who, in their external relations, style themselves the Ochente Shakoan, which signifies the nation of seven (council) fires. This refers to the following division which formerly prevailed among them, viz.:— 1. Mende-Wahkan-toan, or people of the Spirit Lake. 2. Wahkpa-toan, or people of the leaves. 3. Sisi-toan, or Miakechakesa. 4. Yank-toan-an, or Fern leaves 5. Yank-toan, or descended from the Fern leaves. 6. Ti-toan, or Braggers. 7. Wahkpako-toan, or the people that shoot at leaves.
— Long's Expedition to Sources of St. Peter's River &c., vol. 1, pp. 376, 378.]
If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the country comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, that the present policy of the government is to procure their settlement on reservations. This limits them to smaller boundaries; and tends favorably to their civilization. I might also say here, that the title which the Indians have to the country they occupy is that of occupancy. They have the natural right to occupy the land; but the absolute and sovereign title is in the United States. The Indians can dispose of their title to no party or power but the United States. When, however, the government wishes to extinguish their title of occupancy, it pays them a fair price for their lands according as may be provided by treaty. The policy of our government towards the Indians is eminently that of protection and preservation; not of conquest and extermination.
Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of Minnesota, and I am assured by the best informed men of that section, that such will be the name of the territory when organized.
PART III.
TABLE OF STATISTICS.
I. LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN MINNESOTA. II. LAND OFFICES, &c. III. NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA. IV. TABLE OF DISTANCES.
I.
POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS.
I HAVE been furnished, at brief notice, with the following accurate list of the Post Offices and Postmasters in Minnesota by my very excellent friend, Mr. JOHN N. OLIVIER, of the Sixth Auditor's Office:
LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN THE TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA, PREPARED PROM THE BOOKS OF THE APPOINTMENT OFFICE, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, TO DECEMBER 12, 1856.
Post Office.
Postmaster.
BENTON COUNTY.
Belle Prairie
Calvin C. Hicks.
Big Lake
Joseph Brown.
Clear Lake
F. E. Baldwin.
Crow Wing
Allen Morrison.
Elk River
John Q. A. Nickerson.
Itasca
John C. Bowers.
Little Falls
C. H. Churchill.
Royalton
Rodolph's D. Kinney.
Sauk Rapids
C. B. Vanstest.
Swan River
James Warren.
Watab
David Gilman.
BLUE EARTH COUNTY.
Kasota
Isaac Allen.
Mankato
Parsons K. Johnson.
Liberty
Edward Brace.
Pajutazee
Andrew Robertson.
South Bend
Matthew Thompson.
Winnebago Agency
Henry Foster.
BROWN COUNTY.
New Ulm
Anton Kans.
Sioux Agency
Asa W. Daniels.
CARVER COUNTY.
Carver
Joseph A. Sargent.
Chaska
Timothy D. Smith.
La Belle
Isaac Berfield.
Scandia
A. Bergquest.
San Francisco
James B. Cotton.
Young America
R. M. Kennedy.
CHISAGO COUNTY.
Amador
Lorenzo A. Lowden.
Cedar Creek
Samuel Wyatt.
Chippewa
J. P. Gulding.
Chisago City
Henry S. Cluiger.
Hanley
John Hanley.
Rushseby
George B. Folsom.
Sunrise City
George S. Frost.
Taylor's Falls
Peter E. Walker.
Wyoming
Jordan Egle.
DAKOTA COUNTY.
Athens
Jacob Whittemore.
Centralia
H. P. Sweet.
Empire City
Ralph P. Hamilton.
Farmington
Noredon Amedon.
Fort Snelling
Franklin Steele.
Hampton
James Archer.
Hastings
John F. Marsh.
Lakeville
Samuel P. Baker.
Le Sueur
Kostum K. Peck.
Lewiston
Stephen N. Carey.
Mendota
Hypolite Dupues.
Ninninger
Louis Loichot.
Ottowa
Frank Y. Hoffstott.
Rosemount
Andrew Keegan.
Vermillion
Leonard Aldrich.
Waterford
Warren Atkinson.
DODGE COUNTY.
Avon
Noah F. Berry.
Ashland
George Townsend.
Claremont
Goerge Hitchcock.
Concord
James M. Sumner.
Montorville
John H. Shober.
Wasioga
Eli. P. Waterman.
FAIRBAULT COUNTY.
Blue Earth City
George B. Kingsley.
Verona
Newell Dewey.
FILLMORE COUNTY.
Bellville
Wilson Bell.
Big Spring
William Walter.
Chatfield
Edwin B. Gere.
Clarimona
Wm. F. Strong.
Deer Creek
William S. Hill.
Elkhorn
Jacob McQuillan.
Elliota
John C. Cleghorn.
Etna
O. B. Bryant.
Fairview
John G. Bouldin.
Fillmore
Robert Rea.
Forestville
Forest Henry.
Jordan
James M. Gilliss.
Lenora
Chas. B. Wilford.
Looking Glass
Lemuel Jones.
Newburg
Gabriel Gabrielson.
Odessa
Jacob P. Kennedy.
Peterson
Knud Peterson.
Pilot Mound
Daniel B. Smith.
Preston
L. Preston.
Riceford
Wm. D. Vandoren.
Richland
Benjn. F. Tillotson.
Rushford
Sylvester S. Stebbins.
Spring Valley
Condello Wilkins.
Uxbridge
Daniel Crowell.
Waukokee
John M. West.
FREEBORN COUNTY.
Albert Lea
Lorenzo Murray.
Geneva
John Heath.
St. Nicholas
Saml. M. Thompson.
Shell Rock
Edward P. Skinner.
GOODHUE COUNTY.
Burr Oak Springs
Henry Doyle.
Cannon River Falls
George McKenzie.
Central Point
Charles W. Hackett.
Pine Island
John Chance.
Poplar Grove
John Lee.
Red Wing
Henry C. Hoffman.
Spencer
Hans Mattson.
Wacouta
George Post.
Westervelt
Evert Westervelt.
HENNEPIN COUNTY.
Bloomington
Reuben B. Gibson.
Chanhassen
Henry M. Lyman.
Dayton
John Baxter.
Eden Prairie
Jonas Staring.
Elm Creek
Charles Miles.
Harmony
James A. Dunsmore.
Excelsior
Charles P. Smith.
Island City
William F. Russell.
Maple Plain
Irvin Shrewsbury.
Medicine Lake
Francis Hagot.
Minneapolis
Alfred E. Ames.
Minnetonka
Levi W. Eastman.
Osseo
Warren Samson.
Perkinsville
N. T. Perkins.
Watertown
Alexander Moore.
Wyzata
W. H. Chapman.
HOUSTON COUNTY.
Brownsville
Charles Brown.
Caledonia
Wm. J. McKee.
Hamilton
Charles Smith.
Hackett's Grove
Emery Hackett.
Hokah
Edward Thompson.
Houston
Ole Knudson.
Loretta
Edmund S. Lore.
Looneyville
Daniel Wilson.
La Crescent
William Gillett.
Mooney Creek
Cyrus B. Sinclair.
Portland
Alexr. Batcheller.
Sheldon
John Paddock.
Spring Grove
Embric Knudson.
San Jacinto
George Canon.
Wiscoy
Benton Aldrich.
Yucatan
T. A. Pope.
LAKE COUNTY.
Burlington
Chas. B. Harbord.
LA SUEUR COUNTY.
Elysium
Silas S. Munday.
Grandville
Bartlet Y. Couch.
Lexington
Henry Earl.
Waterville
Samuel D. Drake.
McLEOD COUNTY.
Glencoe
Surman G. Simmons.
Hutchinson
Lewis Harrington.
MEEKER COUNTY.
Forest City
Walter C. Bacon.
MORRISON COUNTY.
Little Falls
Orlando A. Churchill.
MOWER COUNTY.
Austin
Alanson B. Vaughan.
Frankford
Lewis Patchin.
High Forest
Thos. H. Armstrong.
Le Roy
Daniel Caswell.
NICOLLET COUNTY.
Eureka
Edwin Clark.
Hilo
William Dupray.
Saint Peter
George Hezlep.
Travers des Sioux
William Huey.
OLMSTEAD COUNTY.
Durango
Samuel Brink.
Kalmar
James A. Blair.
Oronoco
Samuel P. Hicks.
Pleasant Grove
Samuel Barrows.
Rochester
Phineas H. Durfel.
Salem
Cyrus Holt.
Springfield
Almon H. Smith.
Waterloo
Robert S. Latta.
Zumbro
Lucy Cobb.
PEMBINA COUNTY.
Cap Lake
David B. Spencer.
Pembina
Joseph Rolette.
Red Lake
Sela G. Wright.
Saint Joseph's
George A. Belcourt.
PIERCE COUNTY.
Fort Ridgeley
Benjn. H. Randall.
PINE COUNTY.
Alhambra
Herman Trott.
Mille Lac
Mark Leadbetter.
RAMSEY COUNTY.
Anoka
Arthur Davis.
Centreville
Charles Pettin.
Columbus
John Klerman.
Howard's Lake
John P. Howard.
Little Canada
Walter B. Boyd.
Manomine
Joseph A. Willis.
Otter Lake
Ross Wilkinson.
Red Rock
Giles H. Fowler.
St. Anthony's Falls
Norton H. Hemiup.
St. Paul
Charles S. Cave.
RICE COUNTY.
Cannon City
C. Smith House.
Faribault
Alexander Faribault.
Medford
Smith Johnson.
Morristown
Walter Norris.
Northfield
Calvin S. Short.
Shieldsville
Joshua Tufts.
Union Lake
Henry M. Humphrey.
Walcott
Joseph Richardson.
SAINT LOUIS COUNTY.
Falls of St. Louis
Joseph Y. Buckner.
Oneota
Edmund F. Ely.
Twin Lakes
George W. Perry.
SCOTT COUNTY.
Belle Plaine
Nahum Stone.
Louisville
Joseph R. Ashley.
Mount Pleasant
John Soules.
New Dublin
Dominick McDermott
Sand Creek
William Holmes.
Shak-a-pay
Reuben M. Wright.
SIBLEY COUNTY.
Henderson
Henry Pochler.
Prairie Mound
Morgan Lacey.
STEARNS COUNTY.
Clinton
John H. Linneman.
Neenah
Henry B. Johnson.
Saint Cloud
Joseph Edelbrook.
Torah
Reuben M. Richardson.
STEELE COUNTY.
Adamsville
Hiram Pitcher.
Aurora
Charles Adsit.
Dodge City
John Coburn.
Ellwood
Wilber F. Fiske.
Josco
James Hanes.
Lemond
Abram Fitzsimmons.
Owatana
Samuel B. Smith.
St. Mary's
Horatio B. Morrison.
Swavesey
Andrew J. Bell.
Wilton
David J. Jenkins.
SUPERIOR COUNTY.
Beaver Bay
Robert McLean.
French River
F. W. Watrous.
Grand Marias
Richard Godfrey.
Grand Portage
H. H. McCullough.
WABASHAW COUNTY.
Greenville
Rodman Benchard.
Independence
Seth L. McCarty.
Lake City
Harvey F. Williamson.
Mazeppa
John E. Hyde.
Minneska
Nathaniel F. Tifft.
Minnesota City
Samuel E. Cotton.
Mount Vernon
Stephen M. Burns.
Reed's Landing
Fordyce S. Richard.
Wabashaw
J. F. Byrne.
West Newton
Austin R. Swan.
WAHNATAH COUNTY.
Fort Ripley
Solon W. Manney.
WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Cottage Grove
Stephen F. Douglass.
Lake Land
Freeman C. Tyler.
Marine Mills
Orange Walker.
Milton Mills
Lemuel Bolles.
Point Douglass
R. R. Henry.
Stillwater
Harley Curtis.
WINONA COUNTY.
Dacota
Nathan Brown.
Eagle Bluffs
William W. Bennett.
Homer
John A. Torrey.
New Boston
William H. Dwight.
Richmond
Samuel C. Dick.
Ridgeway
Joseph Cooper.
Saint Charles
Lewis H. Springer.
Saratoga
Thomas P. Dixon.
Stockton
William C. Dodge.
Twin Grove
Oren Cavath.
Utica
John W. Bentley.
Warren
Eben B. Jewett.
Winona
John W. Downer.
White Water Falls
Miles Pease.
WRIGHT COUNTY.
Berlin
Charles W. Lambert
Buffalo
Amasa Ackley.
Clear Water
Simon Stevens.
Monticello
M. Fox.
Northwood
A. H. Kelly.
Rockford
Joel Florida.
Silver Creek
Abram G. Descent.
II.
LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA.
GENERAL LAND OFFICE,
December 8, 1856.
SIR: Your two letters of the 6th instant, asking for a list of the land offices in Minnesota Territory, with the names of the officers connected therewith,— also the number of acres sold and the amount of fees received by such officers, during the fiscal year, ending 30th June, 1856, have been received.
In reply, I herewith enclose a statement of the information desired, save that the amount of fees for the fiscal year cannot be stated.
Very respectfully,
THOMAS A. HENDRICKS,
Commissioner,
C. C. ANDREWS, Esq.
LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA.
LAND DISTRICTS.
Name of Register
Name of Receiver.
Number of acres sold during the fiscal year ending 30th of June, 1856.
Amount of purchase-money received therefor.
Stillwater
Thos. M. Fullerton
Wm. Holcomb
103,141.31
128,930.23
Sauk Rapids
Geo. W. Sweet
Wm. H. Wood
49,712.44
65,355.41
Chatfield (late Brownsville)
John R. Bennet
Jno. H. McKenny
238,323.26
298,920.90
Minneapolis
Marcus P. Olds
Roswell P. Russell
139,188.96
186,651.77
Winona
Diedrich Upman
Lorenzo D. Smith
264,777.38
335,845.66
Red Wing
Wm. P. Phelps
Chr. Graham
206,987.32
265,173.84
1,002,130.67
$1,280,867.81
Since the 30th June, 1856, the following offices have been established and officers appointed.
Buchanan
Saml. Clark
John Whipple
Ojibeway
Saml. Plumer
Wm. Sawyer
III.
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA.
PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT
St. Paul
Daily and Weekly
MINNESOTIAN
St. Paul
Daily and Weekly
TIMES
St. Paul
Daily and Weekly
FINANCIAL ADVERTISER
St. Paul
Weekly
UNION
Stillwater
Weekly
MESSENGER
Stillwater
Weekly
EXPRESS
St. Anthony
Weekly
REPUBLICAN
St. Anthony
Weekly
DEMOCRAT
Minneapolis
Weekly
FRONTIERSMAN
Sauk Rapids
Weekly
NORTHERN HERALD
Watab
Weekly
INDEPENDENT
Shakopee
Weekly
REPUBLICAN
Shakopee
Weekly
DEMOCRAT
Henderson
Weekly
COURIER
St. Peter
Weekly
DAKOTA JOURNAL
Hastings
Weekly
SENTINEL
Red Wing
Weekly
GAZETTE
Canon Falls
Weekly
JOURNAL
Wabashaw
Weekly
ARGUS
Winona
Weekly
REPUBLICAN
Winona
Weekly
SOUTHERN HERALD
Brownsville
Weekly
Carimona
Weekly
DEMOCRAT
Chatfield
Weekly
REPUBLICAN
Chatfield
Weekly
RICE COUNTY HERALD
Faribault
Weekly
St. Cloud
Weekly
OWATONIA WATCHMAN AND REGISTER
Owatonia
Weekly.
IV.
TABLE OF DISTANCES.
TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. PAUL.
MILES
To St. Anthony
8 3/4
Rice Creek
7
15 3/4
St. Francis, or Rum River
9
25
Itasca
7
32
Elk River
6
38
Big Lake
10
48
Big Meadow (Sturgis)
18
66
St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids)
10
76
Watab
6
82
Little Rock
2
84
Platte River
12
96
Swan River
10
106
Little Falls
3
109
Belle Prairie
5
114
Fort Ripley
10
124
Crow Wing River
6
130
Sandy Lake
120
250
Savannah Portage
15
265
Across the Portage
5
270
Down Savannah River to St. Louis River
20
290
Fond-du-Lac
60
350
Lake Superior
22
372
Crow Wing River
130
Otter Tail Lake
70
200
Rice River
74
274
Sand Hills River
70
340
Grand Fork, Red River
40
380
Pembina
80
460
Sandy Lake
250
Leech Lake
150
400
Red Lake
80
480
Pembrina
150
630
Stillwater
18
Arcola
5
23
Marine Mills
6
29
Falls St. Croix
19
48
Pokagema
40
88
Fond-du-Lac
75
164
Red Rock
6
Point Douglass
24
Red Wing
Winona's Rock, Lake Pepin
30
60
Wabashaw
30
90
Prairie du Chien
145
235
Cassville
29
264
Peru
21
285
Dubuque
8
293
Mouth of Fever River
17
310
Rock Island
52
362
Burlington
135
497
Keokuk
53
550
St. Louis
179
729
Cairo
172
901
New Orleans
1040
1941
Mendota
7
Black Dog Village
4
Sixe's Village
21
Traverse des Sioux
50
Little Rock
45
Lac Qui Parle
80
Big Stone Lake
66
Fort Pierce, on Missouri
240
TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. CLOUD.
To Minneapolis
62
Superior City, on Brott and Wilson's Road
120
Traverse des Sioux
70
Henderson
60
Fort Ridgley
100
Long Prairie
40
Otter Tail Lake
60
The Salt Springs
120
Fort Ripley
60
Mille Lac City
60
DISTANCES FROM CROW WING.
To Chippeway Mission
15
Ojibeway
50
Superior City
80
Otter Tail City
60
St. Cloud
55
PART IV.
PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES.
PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES.
AT a late moment, and while the volume is in press, I am enabled to present the following exposition of the Preemption Law, addressed to the Secretary of the Interior by Mr. Attorney-General Cushing. (See "Opinions of Attorneys General," vol. 7, 733-743— in press.)
PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES.
Portions of the public lands, to the amount of three hundred and twenty acres, may be taken up by individuals or preemptioners for city or town sites.
The same rules as to proof of occupation apply in the case of municipal, as of agricultural, preemption.
The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have preference over those of trade or of agriculture.
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
July 2, 1856.
SIR: Your communication of the 20th May, transmitting papers regarding Superior City (so called) in the State of Wisconsin, submits for consideration three precise questions of law; two of them presenting inquiry of the legal relations of locations for town sites on the public domain, and the third presenting inquiry of another matter, which, although pertinent to the case, yet is comprehended in a perfectly distinct class of legal relations.
I propose, in this communication, to reply only upon the two first questions.
The act of Congress of April 24, 1841, entitled "An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant preemption rights," contains, in section 10th, the following provisions: "no lands reserved for the support of schools, nor lands acquired by either of the two last treaties with the Miami tribe of Indians in the State of Indiana, or which may be acquired of the Wyandot tribe of Indians in the State of Ohio, or other Indian reservation to which the title has been or may be extinguished by the United States at any time during the operation of this act; no sections of lands reserved to the United States alternate to other sections of land granted to any of the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or other public improvement; no sections or fractions of sections included within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions of the public lands which have been selected for the site of a city or town; no parcel of a lot of land actually settled or occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and no lands on which are situated any known salines or mines, shall be liable to entry under or by virtue of this act." (v Stat. at Large, p. 456.)
An act passed May 28, 1844, entitled "An act for the relief of citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under certain circumstances," provides as follows:
"That whenever any portion of the surveyed public lands has been or shall be settled upon and occupied as a town site, and therefore not subject to entry under the existing preemption laws, it shall be lawful, in case such town or place shall be incorporated, for the corporate authorities thereof, and if not incorporated, for the judges of the county court for the county in which such town may be situated, to enter at the proper land office, and at the minimum price, the land so settled and occupied, in trust for the several use and benefit of the several occupants thereof, according to their respective interests; the execution of which trust, as to the disposal of the lots in said town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be conducted under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the legislative authority of the state or territory in which the same is situated; Provided, that the entry of the land intended by this act be made prior to the commencement of a public sale of the body of land in which it is included, and that the entry shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town, and be made in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands authorized by the act of the twenty-fourth of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and shall not in the whole exceed three hundred and twenty acres; and Provided also, that the act of the said trustees, not made in conformity to the rules and regulations herein alluded to, shall be void and of none effect:" * * * (v Stat. at Large, p. 687.)
Upon which statutes you present the following questions of construction: "1st. What is the legal signification to be given to the words, 'portions of the public lands which have been selected as the site for a city or town,' which occur in the preemption law of 1841, and which portions of the public lands are by said act exempted from its provisions? Do they authorize selections by individuals with a view to the building thereon of a city or town, or do they contemplate a selection made by authority of some special law?
"Do the words in the act of 23d May, 1844, 'and that the entry shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town,' restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre subdivisions, alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said town, or do they mean, only, that the entry shall not embrace any land not shown by the survey on the ground, or the plat of the town, to be occupied thereby, and not to exceed 820 acres, which is to be taken by legal subdivisions, according to the public survey, and to what species of 'legal subdivisions' is reference made in said act of 1844?"
These questions, as thus presented by you, are abstract questions of law,— namely, of the construction of statutes. They are distinctly and clearly stated, so as not to require of me any investigation of external facts to render them more intelligible. Nor do they require of me to attempt to make application of them to any actual case, conflict of right, or controversy either between private individuals or such individuals and the Government.
It is true that, accompanying your communication, there is a great mass of representations, depositions, arguments, and other papers, which show that the questions propounded by you are not speculative ones, and that, on the contrary, they bear, in some way, on matters of interest, public or private, to be decided by the Department. But those are matters for you, not for me, to determine. You have requested my opinion of certain points of law, to be used by you, so far as you see fit, in aid of such your own determination. I am thus happily relieved of the task of examining and undertaking to analyze the voluminous documents in the case: more especially as your questions, while precise and complete in themselves, derive all needful illustration from the very instructive report in the case of the present Commissioner of Public Lands and the able brief on the subject drawn up in your Department.
I. To return to the questions before me: the first is in substance whether the words in the act of 1841,— " portions of the public land which have been selected as the site for a city or a town,"— are to be confined to cases of such selection in virtue of some special authority, or by some official authority?
I think not, for the following reasons:
The statute does not by any words of legal intendment say so.
The next preceding clause of the act, which speaks of lands "included within the limits of any incorporated town," implies the contrary, in making separate provision for a township existing by special or public authority.
The next succeeding clause, which speaks of land "actually settled or occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture," leads to the same conclusion; for why should selection for a town site require special authority any more than occupation for the purposes of trade?
The general scope of the act has the same tendency. Its general object is to regulate, in behalf of individuals, the acquisition of the public domain by preemption, after voluntary occupation for a certain period of time, and under other prescribed circumstances. In doing this, it gives a preference preemption to certain other uses of the public land, by excluding such land from liability to ordinary preemption. Among the uses thus privileged, and to which precedence in preemption is accorded, are, 1. "Sections, or fractions of sections included within the limits of any incorporated town;" 2. "Portions of the public land which have been selected for the site of a city or town;" and, 3. "Land actually settled or occupied for the purposes of trade, and not agriculture." Now, it is not easy to see any good reason why, if individuals may thus take voluntarily for the purposes of agriculture,— they may not also take for the purposes of a city or town. The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have preference over those of trade, and still more over those of agriculture. Yet individuals may take for either of the latter objects: a fortiori they may take for a city or town.
Why should it be assumed that individual action in this respect is prohibited for towns any more than for trade or agriculture? It does not concern the Government whether two persons preempt one hundred and sixty acres each for the purposes of agriculture, or for the purpose of a town, except that the latter object will, incidentally, be more beneficial to the Government. Nor is there any other consideration of public policy to induce the Government to endeavor to discourage the formation of towns. Why, then, object to individuals taking up a given quantity of land in one case rather than in the other?
Finally, the act of 1844 definitively construes the act of 1841, and proves that the "selection" for town sites there spoken of may be either by public authority or by individuals:— that the word is for that reason designedly general, and without qualification, but must be fixed by occupation. That act supposes public land to be "settled upon and occupied as a town site," and "therefore" not subject to entry under the existing preemption laws. This description identifies it with the land "selected for the site of a city or town," in the previous act. It limits the quantity so to be selected, that is, settled or occupied, to three hundred and twenty acres, and otherwise regulates the selection as hereinafter explained. It then provides how such town site is to be entered and patented. If the town be incorporated, then the entry is to be made by its corporate authorities. If the town be not incorporated, then it may be entered in the name of the judges of the county court of the county, in which the projected town lies, "in trust for the several use and benefit of the several occupants thereof, according to their respective interests." Here we have express recognition of voluntary selection and occupancy by individuals, and provision for means by which legal title in their behalf may be acquired and patented.
I am aware that by numerous statutes anterior to the act of 1841, provision is made for the authoritative selection of town sites in special cases; but such provisions do by no means exclude or contradict the later enactment of a general provision of law to comprehend all cases of selections for town sites, whether authoritative or voluntary. I think the act of 1841, construed in the light of the complementary act of 1844, as it must be, provides clearly for both contingencies or conditions of the subject. Among the anterior acts, however, is one of great importance and significancy upon this point, more especially as that act received exposition at the time from the proper departments of the Government. I allude to the act of June 22d, 1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights to settlers on the public lands." This act, like that of 1841, contains a provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption, among which are:
"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which have been actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted into smaller quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and occupied for the purposes of trade, and not of agricultural cultivation and improvement, or any land specially occupied or reserved for town lots, or other purposes, by authority of the United States." (v Stat. at Large, p. 251.)
Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by authority are each provided for eo nomine. It is obvious that the provision in the latter case is made for certainty only; since, by the general rules of statute construction, no ordinary claim of preemption could attach to reservations made by authority of the United States. The effective provision in the enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the authority of the United States.
In point of fact the provision was construed by the Department to include all voluntary selections: lands, says the circular of the General Land Office of July 8, 1838, "which settlers have selected with a view of building thereon a village or city."
It seems to me that the same considerations which induced this construction of the word "selection" in the act of 1838, dictate a similar construction of the same word in the subsequent act. Besides which, when a word or words of a statute, which were of uncertain signification originally, but which have been construed by the proper authority, are repented in a subsequent statute, that is understood as being not a repetition merely of the word with the received construction, but an implied legislative adoption even of such construction.
II. The second question is of the construction of the act of 1844, supplemental to that of 1841; and as the construction of the elder derives aid from the language of the later one, so does that of the latter from the former. The question is divisible into sub-questions.
1. Does the phrase "that the entry (for a town-site) shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town," restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre subdivisions alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said town?
2. What is the meaning of the phrase in the act "legal subdivisions of the public lands," in "conformity" with which the entry must be made?
I put the two acts together and find that they provide for a system of preemptions for, among other things, agricultural occupation, commercial or mechanical occupation, and municipal occupation.
In regard to agricultural occupation, the laws provide that, in certain cases and conditions, one person may preempt one hundred and sixty acres, and that in regard to municipal occupation a plurality of persons may, in certain cases and conditions, preempt three hundred and twenty acres. In the latter contingency, there is no special privilege as to quantity, but a disability rather; for two persons together may preempt three hundred and twenty acres by agricultural occupation, and afterwards convert the land into a town site, and four persons together might in the same way secure six hundred and forty acres, to be converted ultimately into the site of a town; while the same four persons, selecting land for a town site, can take only three hundred and twenty acres. In both forms the parties enter at the minimum price of the public lands. The chief advantage which the preemptors for municipal purposes enjoy, is, that they have by statute a preference over agricultural preemptors, the land selected for a town site being secured by statute against general and ordinary, that is, agricultural preemption. In all other respects material to the present inquiry, we may assume, for the argument's sake at least, that the two classes stand on a footing of equality, as respects either the convicting interests of third persons, or the rights of the Government.
Now, the rights of an agricultural preemptor we understand. He is entitled, if he shall "make a settlement in person on the public lands," and "shall inhabit and improve the same, and shall erect a dwelling thereon," to enter, "by legal subdivisions, any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter-section of land, to include the residence of such claimant." (Act of 1841, s. 10.) And of two settlers on "the same quarter-section of land," the earlier one is to have the preference. (Sec. 11.)
Now, was it ever imagined that such claimant must personally inhabit every quarter quarter-section of his claim? That he must have under cultivation every quarter quarter-section? That he must erect a dwelling on every quarter quarter-section? And that, if he failed to do this, any such quarter of his quarter-section might be preempted by a later occupant?
There is no pretension that such is the condition of the ordinary preemptor, and that he is thus held to inhabit, to cultivate, to dwell on, every quarter quarter-section, under penalty of having it seized by another preemptor, or entered in course by any public or private purchaser. He is to provide, according to the regulations of the Land Office or otherwise, indicia, by which the limits of his claim shall be known,— he must perform acts of possession or intended ownership on the land, as notice to others; and that suffices to secure his rights under the statute. It is not necessary for him to cultivate every separate quarter of his quarter-section; it is not necessary for him even to enclose each; it only needs that in good faith he take possession, with intention of occupation and settlement, and proceed in good faith to occupy and settle, in such time and in such manner, as belong to the nature of agricultural occupation and settlement.
Why should there be a different rule in regard to occupants for municipal preemption? The latter is, by the very tenor of the law, the preferred object. Why should those interested in it be subject to special disabilities of competing occupancy? I cannot conceive. |
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